Cottage Witchery (7 page)

Workspace Witchery:
Magick for Home Offices

A home office or workspace is a curious thing. It is a part of your home and yet it is held separate. My little office is the breezeway of our house. It started out as a small family room and has been completely taken over by my desk, computer, and bookshelves. In this room there is an old slip-covered love seat just big enough to curl up and read on, and windows that overlook part of the gardens. Is it a private space? Well, yes and no. Yes, it is private and quiet when the kids are in school, and no, it's not when they get home in the afternoon. In the evening, the kids come out here to work on papers or projects for school or to do research on the Internet.

I write every day, so I am out here in my little office seven days a week. I wake up around 5:00 am and stagger out to the desk to get cracking before the kids get up for college and high school. Once they are up, there is no concentrating with them stomping around (unless I have headphones on). So I take a break, eat breakfast, and impatiently wait for them to clear out.

If I have to go to my part-time job, I try to get some writing in before I go to work. If I'm home for the day, I hit the computer again and then in the early afternoon I usually call it quits for the day. Since I spend so much time in this room, I wanted it to be homey. It also needed to have a good balance of practicality and comfort. And of course I wanted it to be an area that motivated me when I came to my desk to work.

So, when I decorated the office, I incorporated a touch of color magick and used warm, earthy tones to complement the knotty pine paneling in the breezeway, and added forest green curtains. Do you recall the color magick chart from earlier in this chapter? The various shades of brown are earthy, grounding colors that bring comfort, while the green is aligned to the earth element and encourages prosperity. Plus I'm a Virgo, so it all ties together. I chose my colors with care and set it up as nicely as I could. The combination of blessing the office and tying in a little color magick gave me an attractive, comfortable, and functional little office, plus it also made it inspiring and, of course, magickal.

As for accessories on the desk, I have a cluster of quartz crystals, a few framed pictures of family and friends, and a small globe of green and purple fluorite. Fluorite is a handy stone to have at your work area because it strengthens your mental powers and it is supposed to be helpful while researching and gathering information. That's a good combination for anyone to have around.

Now, it's important to point out that you don't have to have a separate room for your workstation, though that sure would be nice. Just go with whatever spot is available. Perhaps you can claim a small corner of the living room or kitchen for your workspace. I have a friend who is an artist and her magickal workspace is in the living room. She has her drawing supplies set up there, plus a few framed prints and quotes for inspiration hanging on the wall above her art table. To add a touch of magick, she adds a small lucky bamboo plant and has blue glass wind chimes hanging above her table to promote some positive chi or energy.

Occasionally she lights a small candle and sets that on her art table, and asks the Lord and Lady for inspiration. Yes, she shares the living room with her family, but this section of the room is her personal workspace. She does the bulk of her illustrations at night after her children go to bed. The important thing to realize is whether it's a private home office or just an area carved out of the family's living area, it's still your workspace. So claim it and make it into a magickal one filled with positive energy and creative vibrations.

These ideas for creating a magickal workspace at home can be easily adapted to your personal area at your job. If you have a cubicle or an office to call your very own, there are lots of clever and subtle natural magick touches that you can add. If you're going to spend a great chunk of your day at work, why not make the atmosphere a magickal one? Sometimes you only need to look at a topic from a different perspective to gain the motivation that you require. No matter if that workspace is physically within your home or across town in an office building, try adding a touch of natural magick to bring comfort and enchantment to your day.

When in doubt, follow that old Boy Scout rule of KISMIF, which stands for Keep It Simple, Make It Fun. Take another look at those Feng Shui practices for some inspiration. Hanging wind chimes above your desk and growing a small piece of lucky bamboo are subtle Feng Shui tricks that you could easily incorporate. If you'd like to slip in something from the four elements of nature at your desk, and you need to keep it low-key while on the job, no problem. Examine the altar setups that were discussed earlier in this chapter and adapt these to suit your own tastes.

Now, to close up this chapter, here is a spell to claim your workspace and to imbue it with magickal energy. You may use this on your office at home or at work.

elemental workspace charm

To begin this elemental spell, sprinkle a pinch of salt around the workspace to represent the earth. Then take a cup of water and sprinkle a tiny bit around the area as well—for, you guessed it, the blessings of the water element. Visualize the heating or cooling in the room as conduits to the element of air, and the lights or the sun streaming in the windows as a representation of fire. When you are ready, repeat the charm.

Elements four, gather 'round this workspace of mine,

Inspiration and comfort you bring at all times.

Bring passion and commitment to the work that I do,

Circle about me now with magick so strong and true.

Close this spell with these lines:

By the strength of hearth and home, this spell is spun,

As I will, so mote it be, and let it harm none.

[contents]

The torch of love is lit in the kitchen.

French Proverb

3

Kitchen Cupboard Conjuring

While we've been covering the magickal house, you have probably noticed that I really had only skimmed over the topic of the magickal kitchen up until now. Why? Because the topic of kitchen witchery deserves its very own chapter. This often maligned magickal tradition is at the heart of cottage witchery and is practical, personal, and powerful.

There are many kitchen witches out there and to be honest, even though I don't like to get stuck cooking dinner, I do enjoy whipping up a little magick in the kitchen with culinary herbs and spices from time to time. Kitchen magick is unique in that it can be applied to any magickal tradition or path. When you practice kitchen magick, you get the opportunity to put your own creative spin on things.

In many homes throughout history the kitchen held a place of honor
.
By tradition, most of the work of the wise woman took place or began at the hearth. Today, the hearth is the kitchen—this isn't too hard to visualize, as more and more folks spend family time in the kitchen. Kids do their homework there, family meetings are held around the table, and at a party everyone gravitates toward the kitchen.

However, the mood or feeling of a kitchen changes when it is used for magick. There is a subtle but strong magickal atmosphere in an enchanted kitchen. For many practitioners this is the most practical spot in which to work their magick, since herbs and spices are right at hand. And there are a variety of common spices and seasonings that can double as magickal herbs. The trick is to look at them and use them in a whole new way.

A good cook is like a sorceress who dispenses happiness.

Elisa Schiaparelli

Spice Rack Sorcery

Various common kitchen spices, extracts, and seasonings pack a wallop of magickal power when worked into charms and spells. You'd be amazed at what kinds of enchantments you can create just by working with common kitchen spices, seasonings, and cooking herbs. Check out this Witch's list, and this chapter's following kitchen magick information, and see what sort of personalized spells and charms you can cook up.

allspice:
money and good luck

basil:
wealth and good luck

bay leaf:
purification, health, and strength

chives:
protection, absorbs bad vibes

cinnamon:
prosperity, happy homes

cloves:
protection, stops gossip

dill:
security, money; frightens away unwanted creatures

garlic:
protection, purification, exorcism

ginger:
power and prosperity

lemon/lemon rind:
breaks up negativity, healing

mace:
increases psychic powers

mint (leaves):
prosperity and protection

mustard seed:
fertility and safe houses

orange rind:
energy, vitality, and health

parsley:
purification, protection

peppermint extract:
cleansing, purification, and protection

rosemary:
healing, love

sage:
wisdom

thyme:
sleep, courage; promotes good health

vanilla extract:
love, passion; stimulates mental powers

Oh, who can tell the hidden power of herbs

and might of magic spell.

Edmund Spenser

Creating Herbal Magick
in the Kitchen

The kitchen is often the center of the home. There is no reason why it cannot be a magickal room as well. Clean out a small section of kitchen cupboard, up and out of reach of young children. Then arrange a few natural magick supplies like candles, crystals, and herbs in there. Perhaps you can set an attractive tealight candleholder back on the counter to have handy for magick. Then the next time you're preparing dinner, or riding herd on the kids and their homework, you can also be working a quick kitchen magick spell.

all-purpose kitchen magick charm

Here is a quick all-purpose charm to go along with your “spicy” kitchen magick.

Enchanted kitchen herbs of brown and green,

Spellcraft can be simpler than it seems.

Add these herbs for power and magick true,

Goddess bless my spells and all that I do.

Close the charm with:

For the good of all, with harm to none,

With spices and herbs, this spell is done!

Think of all the quick and easy spells you could perform with this all-purpose charm. Tie magickal spices into a small fabric charm bag and carry it with you—dill seeds and allspice to promote prosperity, for example. What about a clove of garlic and a sprig of parsley for purification and protection?

Using an old teapot, try steeping a few of the herbal ingredients in water on the stove and letting the scent permeate the air and the atmosphere in the home. Good, sweet-smelling choices for steeping would be lemon rind to break up negativity, cinnamon for prosperity, and cloves to stop gossip.

You could also sprinkle a bit of herb on an unlit tealight candle. That way, as you light the spell candle, you're adding the extra punch of herbal magick to an otherwise simple candle spell.

Practical Magick with the
All-Purpose Tealight

The tealight candle is a sensible solution to expensive beeswax tapers and pillar candles. Tealight candles are available in packages of twelve for usually under two dollars, and they can also be purchased in bags of fifty. Watch for them to go on sale and snag a big bag to keep on hand for candle spells. I don't know about you, but no matter how hard I try, I always seem to be out of a specific color for a candle spell.

I rely on tealight magick a lot. Between running my two teenagers to their sports or band practices, attending various school functions, checking in on my oldest son (the college student), volunteering with the Master Gardeners, and keeping up with my gardens, this leaves me with very little time to go on the hunt for high-priced specialty candles. These little babies are a practical solution.

Tealights are perfect for herbal candle spells. They burn for about four hours and are typically white and unscented. (Don't forget that white is an all-purpose magickal color.) If you would prefer to have them scented, you can always add a drop of essential oil on them that could coordinate with your magickal intention, like clove oil for protection or cinnamon oil for prosperity. Try sweet orange oil to revitalize and refresh yourself after a long day. You could also try adding a drop of vanilla extract on the candle—vanilla encourages mental powers, love, and desire. Or simply do as suggested previously and sprinkle a little bit of one of those magickal spices on top of the unlit candle or in the bottom of the metal cup. Slipping it into the bottom of the cup is neater and very discreet. Place the tealight on top of the herbs and you are ready to cast.

tealight petition magick

If you wish to perform petition magic with a tealight, then write the request on a small piece of paper, fold it up, and tuck it neatly beneath the tealight, in the bottom of the little metal candle cup. Add a pinch of your corresponding herb to the cup, replace the candle, light it, and work your spell. When the candle is finished burning, you will notice that your slip of paper is sealed to the bottom of the cup and covered in wax. Your spell is safely sealed and you may now dispose of the little metal candle cup in the garbage. Here is a quick candle charm to go along with your herbal candle magic.

Tealight candle burning warm and bright,

Lend your magick to me on this night.

Herbs and spices add strength and magical power

Goddess, bless my work in this enchanted hour.

Tealights are also available in many colors and scents. If you prefer to use these as opposed to the plain variety, then refer to the color magick chart from
Chapter Two
(it's a good general guide for color magick). Remember while working your candle magick to never leave those candles unattended. If you must, then move them to the bottom of an empty sink to finish burning.

The tealight candle is a great, affordable accessory to any type of spellwork or charm. Candlelight adds its own magickal atmosphere. Most Witches work with candle magick quite regularly. Candles, in all of their various shapes, colors, and sizes, add the extra push of the element of fire and bring more passion and enthusiasm into your spellwork. Often one of the first magickal techniques learned, it is up to you to decide how to incorporate this information into the Craft that you already practice. Experiment with adding a tealight candle to these next practical kitchen charms.

Making the simple complicated is commonplace;

making the complicated simple, awesomely
simple, that's creativity.

Charles Mingus

Simple Kitchen Magick

You want fast, quick, and simple spells and charms? Try working a little easy kitchen magick and see what you can create. Take the following ideas and adapt them for your own purposes. By adding your own flair, this will personalize the spells and make them uniquely your own. Most of the ingredients for the following kitchen charms are common and readily available. Rummage around the kitchen cabinets—I bet you have many of the supplies already.

Please use natural cooking supplies and dishes or containers whenever possible. Glass, wood, and ceramicware are much more conducive to natural magick energies than plastic. Metal bowls or trays will also work (remember that metal is one of the five elements of Feng Shui). If salt is called for in a spell, you may use sea salt or table salt, whatever you have handy or would prefer.

As you close up and bind these kitchen charms and spells, try using this oldie but goodie standard closing line:

By all the powers of three times three,

As I will it, so shall it be.

Sure, this magickal line is used all of the time. It's a good one. By saying this closing line you are verbally reinforcing that you accept and embrace the idea of karma. You are also stating that you are working positive magick and that you embrace the Rule of Three.